L’Officina – Chimica in Movimento has scored one more goal. The company, based in Solofra, specialized in the manufacturing and marketing of chemicals for tanning, presented Air Leather, which is inflatable leather.
Inflatable leather
To begin with, sheep and goat leather (made in Solofra) undergoes a tanning process that makes it very elastic. L’Officina is currently implementing a metal-free tanning method. Secondly, they process leather to make it extremely light; as well, leather is going to have minimum thickness. Finishing is up to final users: while setting its prototype, L’Officina opted for gold colour. Then they heat-seal leather, while an air chamber provides it with its main feature: an external valve makes leather inflatable. “We have been working on this project since 2016 – points out Giovanni D’Onofrio, who is the general manager of the company together with Maria Buongiorno –. Inflatable leather is based on the same heat-sealing technology through which we managed to create and make our duvet”.
Work in progress
Air Leather (the company unveiled its prototype during the Material Preview, which took place in Santa Croce on December 11) keeps inflated for ten days at least. L’Officina is planning to carry out a test to find out whether they can make a small leather balloon, floating in the air, by blowing into some helium. “We assume that fashion designers might be most interested in the item – continues D’Onofrio –. It has a great potential for fashion. We may well apply it to leather goods articles, for instance, as much as indoor or outdoor décor”. At L’Officina, their Research and Development department keeps working relentlessly, claim from Solofra. Talking about their inventions, among others, it is worth mentioning a duvet, heat-sealed by injecting feathers, and leather embellished with micro diamonds as well.
In the picture, Giovanni D’Onofrio and Air Leather
